Week 2 – Rasheed Hall

In “Chameleon” by Trevor Noah, Noah talks about his experiences growing up as a mixed child in South Africa. Noah recalls due to the color of his skin people would treat him differently, they would look at him in shock, confusion, and in awe. But since Noah was young he didn’t understand the reason why he was getting special treatment, he thought that he was being treated like that because “He’s Trevor”. Noah received special privileges because of the color of his skin for example, lack of punishment, and would often get away with warnings. “Growing up the way I did, I learned how easy it is for white people to get comfortable with a system that awards them all the perks.” (Page 3) Noah realizing this through experience shows how similar it is to white privilege in modern day America. White people are often privileged compared to minorities due to the color of their skin. Like when Noah would misbehave as a child he would get away, with a lot of things because of the color of their skin. White people could get away with a petty crime but if a minority would’ve committed the same offence, it would most likely be a harsher penalty due to the color of their skin. This is also similar to white privilege where white people wouldn’t have to be worried about “Stop and Frisk” or being pulled over while driving at home. White people are seen as more “innocent”, “pure” and “better” compared to minorities due to the fact that America has normalized segregation up until the 1960s. Since it took that long for America to abolish segregation shows a lot about its history, the government and the people have a strong biased against minorities because the color of their skin. Noah’s experience about being treated differently growing up in South Africa because of his skin color is very similar to modern day white privilege in America.